Isambard Kingdom Brunel FRS was an English civil engineer who is considered “one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history”, “one of the 19th-century engineering giants”,
English civil and mechanical engineer of great originality and productivity who designed the first transatlantic steamer, the Great Western. In 1823, he began work with his father, Marc Brunel, on the Thames Tunnel, and later became the resident engineer at the site. In 1829, Brunel designed a suspension bridge to cross the River Avon at Clifton. In 1831, he was appointed chief engineer at the Bristol Docks, and Brunel later designed the Monkwearmouth Docks and others at Plymouth, Cardiff, Brentford and Milford Haven. In 1833, age 27, he was appointed chief engineer of the Great Western Railway, the line that linked London to Bristol. He further built bridges, viaducts, and three steam ships: the Great Western, Great Britain and Great Eastern.
The company, which pioneered the use of large, more economic wagons, was known as “God’s Wonderful Railway”. Brunel was a civil engineer with a highly innovative mind. He was always open to experimenting with different engineering techniques and ideas in order to devise better solutions to the existing problems. Many “firsts” in British civil engineering are credited to him. A risk-taker, he was never afraid to move away from traditionally held notions nor was he loath to implement unconventional concepts. He came up with the idea of building a tunnel under a river and played a pivotal role in the development of the first propeller-driven iron ship meant to sail on the oceans thus revolutionizing naval engineering. His brilliant mind could have achieved much more, if he had not been a heavy smoker. He suffered a stroke and died when he was just 53. Named at the second place in a BBC public poll, ‘100 Greatest Britons’, he was a much celebrated civil engineer during his time; several monuments erected in his honor are testament to the fact that is revered in today’s times too.